Monday, April 22

My bestie and I went downtown to have lunch with another local friend, who took us to the delightful Piccolina. I had a delicious salad, a filled-to-order cannoli with chocolate hazlenut filling and pistachios on the ends, and a great time with the two of them. Afterward we wandered around downtown and popped into the Smithsonian National Museum of American History and zipped by a few specific exhibits.

Tuesday, April 23

My bestie left today, which is not delightful but I suppose is necessary. But the weather was beautiful and I had windows open around the house for most of the day.

Wednesday, April 24

There’s also not much to delight in on a day when my back pain flares up, but I did finish today’s Strands (a new NYT word game that’s in beta) without needing any hints. Thanks to Danielle for alerting me to this game! It’s a little bit tricky to get started but I’m enjoying learning how to think about playing this game.

Thursday, April 25

My hubby had to swing by the grocery store on his way home to get something for dinner, and he picked up some gelato while he was there. So, we got to enjoy a bowl of gelato as a dessert / after dinner snack.

Friday, April 26

Today’s delight is my heating pad.

Saturday, April 27

My hubby made pizza for dinner! And he helped me get started with today’s Strands.

Sunday, April 28

Today I went up to Baltimore for lunch and a play with a friend. We sat outside to eat and it was a beautiful day for it.

Monday, April 15

Took a long walk after dinner with my hubby. We took a different route than usual and I got to enjoy some front gardens I hadn’t gotten a good look at yet this spring. There’s tons of phlox blooming right now and it’s so pretty and springy.

Tuesday, April 16

It’s my birthday! My hubby sent me donuts (apparently because my actual gift hasn’t arrived yet), and we went out for an early dinner at spot we loved near our first apartment, The Pub & The People.

And then, we saw a wonderful performance of Macbeth with Ralph Fiennes and Indira Varma in the lead roles. It was staged in the old BET studios, which was a really interesting venue and it allowed them to set the mood from the moment you arrived. We had excellent seats right in the middle of the stage, thanks to a friend with a season membership who had early access to tickets. I liked everything about the show, and am so glad we were able to see this.

Wednesday, April 17

Walked to the library to pick up a couple of holds at lunch. The weather was pretty perfect.

Thursday, April 18

I started working with a personal trainer in late February, focusing on strength training. We missed the last couple of weeks due to each of us being out of town, so today was my first session in a while and it felt great.

Friday, April 19

Pizza for dinner!

Saturday, April 20

My bestie arrived for a visit! After we got back from the airport, we enjoyed a fun afternoon having lunch and hitting up my neighborhood bookstore, Loyalty Bookstores.

Sunday, April 21

I met my bestie in grad school, and a few other mutual friends from our grad school days live in the region. Today one of them came into town and we went to the Smithsonian American Art Museum to see Pattern and Paradox: The Quilts of Amish Women. The exhibit was gorgeous; I was surprised by how colorful some of the quilts were. And the craftsmanship! I’ve made one quilt, it’s small and has a simple pattern, and that was still finicky work. The level of skill and artistry that it took to make these is incredible.

We wandered around the rest of the museum and took in a couple of other exhibits, including Composing Color: Paintings by Alma Thomas. Another gorgeous exhibit, and to me it’s in conversation with the quilts in some ways.

Monday, April 8

We didn’t manage to get any eclipse glasses, but my hubby made a pinhole projector out of a grape nuts box. We sat on the porch taking turns with it. Not as cool as the 2017 eclipse but it was neat! And it was a beautiful spring day to be outside.

Tuesday, April 9

I’m attending a conference this week. Unfortunately it’s in Las Vegas. Fortunately, my platonic life partner is here! She stopped by my room (conveniently, we’re on the same floor) a little while after I arrived to drop off a birthday gift: a signed copy of Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett.

Wednesday, April 10

Spotted a dog in a Hawaiian shirt. I have no idea why it was in a casino, though.

Thursday, April 11

Split some incredible veggie fried rice with my bestie. The texture was perfect, with rice that was mostly chewy, but with lots of crispy bits throughout.

Saw the fountains all lit up at the Bellagio. It was beautiful but also kind of sounded like muted fireworks, which I was not expecting.

Friday, April 12

Leaving Las Vegas!

My hubby ordered us pho for dinner and it arrived not long after I got home. after a long day of weird meals it really hit the spot.

Saturday, April 13

Book club day! One of my friends has a Kanzan cherry tree in her front yard and brought some cuttings. This is my favorite cherry tree, it’s so fluffy! I put most of them in with the remains of my anniversary bouquet and the rest went on the wall.

Sunday, April 14

My hubby made us breakfast sandwiches with eggs, gouda, and turkey bacon, on some really nice seeded rolls he’d gotten for dinner the night before. And he put together the rack for my dumbbells today while doing some cleaning and organizing in the basement.

This is a new weekly series, shamelessly ripped off from Ellen’s Weekly Delights and Danielle’s Last Week Delight.

Monday, April 1

Saw a couple of good April Fool’s jokes, including SpringShare’s LibBNB and this one from the National Park Service. I really appreciated SpringShare’s commitment to the bit (they even link to past April Fool’s jokes) and how the NPS came up with something they could turn into a history lesson.

Tuesday, April 2

Caught a livestream yoga class from Yoga Heights for the first time in about a month. I’ve started strength training and the schedule for that has conflicted with the Tuesday livestream class, and due to work obligations I haven’t been able to get to the other days that I usually attend. It felt really good to get back to it, especially in a class led by one of my favorite instructors.

Wednesday, April 3

Caught another livestream yoga class. I didn’t realize it but there was a sub, and it was another of my favorite teachers.

Thursday, April 4

The sun came back after a very rainy and overcast few days. I wouldn’t have said I was having a down week but WOW did my mood improve!

We went to dinner at Moreland’s Tavern, a local favorite that we hadn’t been to in a while, and I got to enjoy a side of fresh, crispy tater tots. There’s nothing like a crispy restaurant tot.

Friday, April 5

We ate dinner at home, but afterward walked up to a local spot where we ordered beers and desserts. Our server was delighted by this. When we left, she called after us: “See you next time, party people!”

Naturally, because we’re Team Starts the Party, we were home by 8pm.

Saturday, April 6

We went out to dinner at Annabelle to celebrate our anniversary. The meal and ambiance were wonderful. I really love a place that’s so elegant, and has such a high caliber of food and service, but still manages to keep the experience comfortable and relaxed. We discovered a new kind of wine we like (white burgundy) and I had an amazing dish involving scallops.

Plus, I got a pretty bouquet from my hubby.

Sunday, April 7

Enjoyed some fresh, homemade sourdough with our eggs this morning.

We went to the garden center, where I picked up a bunch of annuals for our various hanging baskets and stocked up on fertilizer.